Conventionally, in order to prevent a device from malfunctioning, connectors used in critical circuits for air bag devices and the like are provided with a means to prevent the incomplete fitting of male and female housings which are fitted together. One example thereof is described in JP-11-185880. This connector is provided with a locking means to maintain male and female housings in a fitted state, and a fitting detecting means having a coiled spring which is compressed as the two housings are fitted together and which stores spring force. If the fitting operation is halted part-way through, the spring force separates the two housings, thereby allowing the incompletely fitted state of the two housings to be detected.
In this connector, the locking means and the fitting detecting means are provided separately. Consequently, the configuration of the connector is complicated and is not conducive to the miniaturisation of the connector.
The present invention has taken the above problem into consideration, and aims to simplify the configuration of a connector provided with a fitting detecting function.
According to the invention there is provided an electrical connector comprising a housing having an anterior side, terminals at the anterior side for engagement with a corresponding connector, and a resilient locking arm having a protrusion engageable with a corresponding connector to maintain said housing in a latched condition, said housing further including a slider having an abutment for contact with a corresponding connector, said slider being movable towards and away from the anterior side, and spring means to urge the slider to the anterior side, wherein locking arm is provided on said slider. Said housing may include a guide for bending said locking arm in response to movement of said slider away from the anterior side, said guide causing said abutment to be released from contact with a corresponding connector at a predetermined stroke of said slider such that said slider moves to the anterior under the force of said spring means, said locking arm being maintained in a bent state until engagement of said protrusion and corresponding connector.
In such a connector all of the movable components are provided on one of the two connector members, thus a relatively simple mating connector can be integrally moulded as part of an electrical component.
The protrusion and abutment are preferably the same, thus the two functions can be combined in a single moulded feature.
In the preferred embodiment the housing is provided with a regulating member for preventing bending of the locking arm during initial movement of the slider, this regulating member disengaging from the locking arm at a predetermined stroke of the slider at which bending of the locking arm is initiated.
The connector housing is preferably also provided with a support member for maintaining the locking arm in a bent condition during movement thereof to the anterior side. The support member and regulating member are preferably constituted by opposite faces of a single moulded feature.